Perodua must continue success for people’s benefit, says Mustapa
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia’s leading compact car maker Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd ( Perodua) is very important to the country and must continue its success for the people’s benefit, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
“The government is looking forward for Perodua to export its cars overseas,” he said at the launch of the all-new Myvi here yesterday.
Established in 1993, Perodua is leveraging its partnership with Japan’s Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd. Mustapa hoped the all-new Myvi would continue Perodua’s success and become one of the best selling cars in the country.
“The launch (of the all-new Myvi) today is a historic moment. It is a 100 per cent Malaysian- design model. Lots of improvement, Perodua has done a wonderful job,” he said.
Perodua Chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin said Perodua had produced 3.2 billion cars since 1994.
“The newly launched all-new Myvi today get 5,000 bookings. It is an endorsement to our capability and productivity. It is a sign of responsibility for us to improve better in future,” he said.
The all-new Myvi comes in five variants; namely 1.3 Standard ( MT), 1.3 standard G (AT), 1.3 Premium X (AT), 1.5 High (AT) and 15 Advance (AT).
Perodua president and chief executive officer Datuk Dr Aminar Rashid Salleh described the allnew Myvi, priced from RM44,300 to RM55,300, as one of the best value for money cars in its price range.
“From Nov 9 until this afternoon, we received 5,000 bookings, of which 78 per cent were for the 1.5cc model.
“We are blessed with the overwhelming response,” he told a press conference prior to the launch of the all-new Myvi.
Daihatsu Motor Co Ltd president Soichiro Okudaira was present.
Aminar Rashid said Perodua was targeting an average monthly sales of 6,000 units of the third generation Myvi, which had received a 5-star safety rating by New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP).
“We are targeting to produce between 75,000 and 80,000 cars a year,” he said.
Asked whether the all-new Myvi will be exported, Aminar Rashid said even though there were plans in the pipeline, Perodua would focus on the domestic market first.
“We will try to fulfill the current and future bookings here first before looking at the export market,” he said.
Refuting claims that the all-new Myvi was copied from another carmaker, he said the design was done totally in-house involving 59 local designers.
“It is a fresh design from us. We’d structured the design based on what Malaysians want. It is also based on global trend,” he said.
The all-new Myvi posts fuel economy figures of between 20.1 and 21.1 kilometres per litre, averaging 32 per cent more efficient than the previous model.
The cars come in six colours – ivory white, glittering silver, mystical purple, lava red, peppermint green, and granite grey. — Bernama